A Tory MP has defended his wife after she posted a picture of him ‘so drunk’ he had forgotten he’d taken a phone call from the prime minister.
Former defence minister Johnny Mercer said she was ‘entitled to take the p*** out of me’ after she shared images of him slumbering after a day watching sport on TV.
Writing on Twitter, Felicity Cornelius-Mercer said her husband had received a phone call from Boris Johnson ‘but was so p***ed he can’t remember what was said’.
Her tweet prompted expressions of bemusement on social media over her actions.
One responded by asking: ‘Why would she do that?’ Another wrote: ‘Drunk and talking government business, that is beyond acceptable.
‘Why are people voting these unprofessional people in?’
But the Plymouth Moor View MP, who had spent the day tuning into Plymouth Argyle’s narrow FA Cup defeat to Chelsea and Scotland’s rugby victory over England, posted: ‘In other breaking news, wives have a mind and a life of their own.
‘She is more than entitled to take the p*** out of me/the PM/ whoever she likes.’
His wife tweeted: ‘I am teetotal and J rarely drinks except big sport days… I wish you all the gift of joy.’
Mr Mercer, an ex-Army officer, has been among the PM’s critics over the ‘partygate’ scandal in recent weeks.
He delivered a brutal assessment of his time in the Government after being ‘sacked by text’ last year.
Claiming he had been ‘treated like s*** throughout’, Mr Mercer said the PM had surrounded himself with ‘people who will endlessly tell you what you want to hear’.
Mr Mercer said he offered his resignation because he felt like he was the ‘last man in the room who’s willing to fulfil our manifesto commitments’.
He also accused ministers of a ‘gross betrayal of people who signed up to serve in the military’.
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